


Part of your world

by they_who_shall_not_be_named



Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Capes, Angst, Disney, Evil Joker, King Bruce, M/M, Mermaid Stephanie, Prince Jason, merman dick, merman tim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-01-22 02:58:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12471936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/they_who_shall_not_be_named/pseuds/they_who_shall_not_be_named
Summary: Based upon the broadway musical, the disney movie and the story by Hans Christian Andersen I present to you a Jaytim version of the famous story: The little Mermaid.The story is about a young merman who is willing to give up his life in the sea and his identity as a mer to gain a human soul.(THIS FIC DOES INCLUDE SONGS FROM THE DUTCH MUSICAL AND THE BROADWAY MUSICAL.)(THIS FIC USES PICTURES FROM THE ANIMATED MOVIE. ALL CREDIT GOES TO DISNEY!)





	1. When's it my turn?

**Author's Note:**

> So first things first.  
> English is not my native language but I don’t want that to stop me from writing so I just did it, I started writing to improve my english and at the same time enjoy this new hobby of mine.
> 
> This is my first fic ever! I have never written any story nor fic before so please do give me feedback. I would really appreciate that!  
> It’s based on the broadway musical, disney movie and the story by Hans BUT I will add my own twist to it.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this Disney AU of Jaytim and as I said before, Feedback on my writing or the story is much much much appreciated.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Deep in the ocean, where the water is as blue as sapphire, and as clear as crystal. At the bottom of the sea lives the Sea King and his subjects.

The Sea King, named Bruce, has three children.

Dick, 24 years old;  
Stephanie, 21 years old  
and Timothy, 17 years old.

In the deepest spot of the ocean, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of pink coral, and the windows are made out of amber. The roof is made of shells. But not just regular shells, These shells are beautiful and can be found only in the most dangerous caves because of their value.

—

Bruce has been a widower for many years. When Timothy turned 12 years old, His mother passed away. Bruce doesn’t tell his children why or how and no one in the entire kingdom is allowed to speak about that day.

Bruce was in pain but his children comforted him. They remind him of their mother.

Dick has the same colour on his tail as she had, Stephanie has the same eye colour she had and Timothy... well, Timothy could pass as her much younger twin brother.  
His face looks alot like his mothers and his hair is pitch black just as hers. His tail is coloured green. Not seaweed green... but smaragd green.  
And his skin is as delicate as a rose-leaf.

—

Timothy is very curious about the land of men.

One day, when he was looking for white shells, he had found a white statue instead. The statue was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which had fallen to the bottom of the sea.

He knew that if he would bring the statue to his room back in the castle, Bruce would destroy it. So he had to find somewhere else he could hide it. Somewhere save from any merman, mermaid and fish in the entire ocean. Which would be almost impossible and yet, after a while he found it.  
The perfect cave covered in shells and plankton.

He had planted the statue in the middle of the cave.

And from that day on he would collect as much of these items as he could find and make his collection complete.

—

Years have passed and the cave is filled with human world goodies.

Nothing in the sea gives Timothy as much pleasure as his treasures do.

King Bruce knows that one day he will be forced to let Timothy have what he wants. Because if a mer becomes 18 years old they are allowed to have a glimpse of the land above the sea.  
Tim can’t wait to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships are sailing by; and then he will see both forests and towns.

And In a few days he will.  
It’s almost his turn to rise up from the bottom of the ocean, and see the earth as humans do.

Dick and Stephanie have already visited the surface when they turned 18. They would tell Timothy about the colour of the sky, how fire can be pretty but dangerous also, how the night sky is filled with little diamonds, and what not.

 

One day. Timothy will turn 18 in only one day.

—

“Timmy!” Dick calls out to him.

Timothy turns around and sees his brother Dick.

“Dick! You’re back!”

“Yeah, I had to attend this meeting about-.” Dick can’t finish his sentence as Timothy pulls him in a tight hug.

“Don’t you ever leave me again without giving me a big hug first!” Timothy says.

Dick laughs and hugs him back. “I missed you little brother”  
“But!” He says with a big smile on his face “You’ll turn 18 one week from now and we will throw a big party!”

Tim isn’t someone who likes to party, he likes to spend his time collecting shells and other items but he can’t say no to Dick. He just can’t.

“Every person, and that includes any species of fish in the entire ocean, will be invited and there will be tons of gifts. Not to mention the food!” Dick says in excitement.

He notices Timothy’s lack of excitement.

“Timmy, is everything okay? You seem a little down”  
Timothy hesitates. “I really want to visit the surface, Dick. I’ve waited so long for it but somehow it feels like... it feels like-.”

Dick pats Timothy on his back.  
“Don’t worry Tim. You will. I’ll make sure of it.” He says.

“Dick!” They hear Steph yell from behind them. “I recognize that big tail from miles away!”

Dick starts laughing “I missed you too, Steph”

Stephanie hugs him and then turns around to face Timothy.

“Hey Tim, would you rather have the castle decorated in purple or yellow pearls?” She asks.

Tim looks at the necklace he’s wearing. It has a big purple shell hanging on it.

“Purple!” He answers.

Steph gives him a big smile. “Okay, purple it will be! Let’s go Dick, we have work to do.” She grabs Dick by his arm and pulls him away from Tim.

 

“Bye Timmy!” She says as the two of them swim towards the castle.

 

—

That night Tim can’t sleep, he looks at the rays of moonlight and can’t resist to take a peak.

He leaves through the window and keeps swimming until he barely sees the castle.  
It takes him awhile but as soon as he sticks his head out of the water he gets a full view of the stars that light up the night sky. The stars Dick had talked about.  
He can see the dark blue sky. Not ocean blue, no. This is a different blue. The blue Tim hasn’t seen before. The shade of blue Stephanie loved talking about.

Tim can’t believe his eyes. This is beautiful.

The sea was calm, and the air mild and fresh.  
He closes his eyes to embrace the feeling of the cold air touching his wet skin.

As soon as he opens his eyes he can see a shadow in the distance. He carefully swims towards it and is met with a large ship, with three masts, becalmed on the water, with only one sail set; for not a breeze stiffed, and sailors sitting idle on deck or amongst the rigging.

Tim can hear music. Not the music he is used to. (When his mother died, the only music allowed to be made were the siren songs. Bruce despised the homo sapiens and anything they had invented so their music wasn’t allowed to be played either.)

As darkness came on, a hundred colored lanterns were lighted, as if the flags of all nations waved in the air.

Timothy swims closer to the ship. He holds onto the side of the ship and climbs up. He looks through the clear glass window panes and sees a number of nicely dressed people within.

Among them is a man. A handsome one. He has large grey eyes and brown hair with a white stroke in the front.

A woman with red locks and tanned skin appears. She has green eyes and lips as red as blood.  
“Happy birthday, Jason!”

Tim notices another guy in the corner of the room.  
“How does it feel to be 23? And should I call you grandpa now?” The man laughs.

“Shut up Roy, 23 is just the beginning for me.” Jason says as he untangles himself from Kori’s hug.

He turns around to face the taller woman.  
“As for you, this big party wasn’t neccesary.”

“I know. I know. You like to keep things small.” She responds “But you’re a grown man now and you still haven’t married a woman. People are starting to talk, Jason”

“I’m waiting for the special person to come. I know she’s out there” Jason says as he walks towards the window.

Tim quickly let’s go of the ship and dives back into the sea. He wants to see this man from up close.

As soon as he swims up, more than a hundred rockets rise in the air, making the night sky as bright as day.

To Tim, it appeared as if all the stars of heaven were falling around him, he had never seen something spectacular as these.  
Splendid fireflies fly into the blue air, and everything is reflected in the clear, calm sea beneath.

Tim holds onto the ship and enjoys the view with the music resounded through the clear night air.

A few hours later, Tim still hasn’t taken his eyes away from the ship, or from the beautiful prince.

The colored lanterns had been extinguished, and there were no more lights in the air and the sea had become restless, and a moaning, grumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves

Tim doesn’t mind the waves, his tail was strong enough to easily resist them.

After a while, the sails are quickly unfurled, and the ship has continued her passage. The waves rise higher and clouds darken the sky as lightning appears in the distance. A storm is approaching.

“Everyone, get inside! Roy, come with me!” The prince yells.

Timothy looks up and feels his heart beating faster and his chest getting tighter. This man makes him feel...different.

The ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks gave way under the pressure of the sea as it broke over the deck; the mainmast snapped and the ship layed over on her side as the water rushed in.

Tim doesn’t like where this is going. The crew is in danger.  
He carefully avoids the planks of the wreck as he swims closer to the broken ship.

“Roy! Take my hand!” Jason yells barely reaching anyone through this storm.

Tim can see the prince reaching out to Roy. Roy is too far to grab Jason’s hand and Tim decides it’s time for him to step in. Bruce’s rules have to be obeyed but these people need to be saved.

Tim swims towards Roy and creates a big wave with his tail helping the desperate man up.

All the lights went out and it got pitch dark.  
For a moment there was a complete silence as the storm calmed down.

Tim can’t see anything but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene.

Tim could see the ship sailing and everyone on board. Except... the prince.

“Jason! Jason where are you!” Roy yells from the ship.

The ship parted and Tim had seen Jason sink into the deep waves.

Tim swims among the beams and plank forgetting that they could kill him. He dives deep into the water until he manages to reach the prince.

Jason had struggled to fight the waves but had lost it after a few minutes. His eyes were closed and his lips had turned purple.  
Tim is holding Jason’s head above the water and is letting the waves drift them where they would.

—

Tim arises from his slumber and feels a warm body beneath him.  
He opens his eyes and sees the prince he fell in love with.

“Jason....” Tim whispers as he carefully touches the white locks on Jason’s head.

Jason still hasn’t opened his eyes, his lips have gained their pinkish colour back.

The sun rises up red and glowing from the water, its beams brought back the hue of health to the prince’s cheeks.

Tim wishes Jason would open his eyes because it was almost time for him to go back home before anyone would notice his absence.

He kisses Jason’s forehead and strokes back his wet hair. Jason looks like the statue Tim had found a few years ago. He has the same handsome face and the only difference is that Jason looks younger.

Tim looks around him and sees land, softly blue mountains with white snow rested on them.  
There were beautiful green forests with flowers decorating them.

They are lying on a rock with half of their bodies still covered inside the water. No wonder Tim hasn’t dried out yet.

Tim swims to the beach, which is covered with fine, white sand, and there he lays Jason in the warm sunshine, taking care to raise his head higher than his body.

“If only I could take you with me” Tim whispers into Jason’s ear.

(THE FOLLOWING SONG IS PART OF THIS SCENE:  
https://youtu.be/G06RwKVXCHE - IT’S FROM THE DUTCH MUSICAL.)

“What would I give to live where you are?”  
“What would I pay to stay here beside you?”  
“What would I do to see you smiling at me?”

He softly sings to Jason.  
Tim has the most beautiful voice in the entire ocean. He usually sings for Bruce to ease his pain. His voice is enough to pleasure an entire kingdom.  
He only sings for those he loves but when he does, the entire ocean can hear it, feel it.

After a few minutes he gets interrupted by a strange noise coming from the forest.

Jason carefully opens his eyes but they soon close again.

Tim dives into the water and swims farther from the shore, hiding behind a few rocks, waiting for someone to appear.

A dog appears and runs towards Jason.

Tim wants to go back to Jason and protect him from the little monster but then a man appears behind the dog and soon he has fetched a number of people around Jason.

The dog’s barks scare the hell out of Tim. It’s a pain to his ears and it’s terrifying.

After a few minutes Jason sits up. He is smiling and probably thanking the people around him... but Tim doesn’t get a smile from Jason. He gets nothing. Jason doesn’t know that Tim was the one who saved him.

The people help Jason stand up and quickly throw a blanket around him.  
A girl grabs his hand and the group of people are now guiding him towards a village in the far distance.

Why is that girl touching him? Who does she think she is?  
Tim doesn’t want Jason to be taken away from him.  
Tim doesn’t want to lose Jason.

(THE SONG CONTINUES)

“I don't know when...”  
“I don't how...”  
“But I know something's starting right now...”

Jason stops walking and turns around to face the wide ocean.

The waves behind Tim get restless and lousy as they cover him and almost completely mute his beautiful voice.

“Watch and you'll see....”  
“Someday I'll be...”  
“Part of your world!”

Tim dives back into the water and disappears into the deep blue ocean.

“I heard something!” Jason says as he walks back towards the beach. “A voice....”

“Don’t worry, there is probably still some water left inside your ears!” The girl says as she pulls him closer and away from the sea.

“That person saved me....” Jason whispers in disbelief as he vaguely remembers the face of the mer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? If not, what can I do to improve my writing and/or the story?  
> As I said before, the story will have a twist to it and I will add some things and leave some things out. So don’t be surprised by that.  
> And yes, my English certainly isn't the best. I'm counting on you guys to help me improve ^-^.
> 
> More chapters will be added soon.
> 
> Feedback is much appreciated!


	2. How many wonders can one cavern hold?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim tells Dick about what happened last night. He tells him everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes chapter two!
> 
> I loved writing this chapter. I really loved this particular scene in the disney movie, it was so dark and yet so beautiful.
> 
> Also, there is some Alfred in this chapter! 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading,
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Dived down sorrowfully into the water, Timothy had returned to his father’s castle.  
He had always been very silent and thoughtful, and now he was more so than ever.

“Timmy, are you awake?” Dick asks as he enters Tim’s room.

Timothy hums and turns around.

“Today is the day...Are you thinking about the surface world?” Dick softly whispers as he sits on Tim’s bed.

“Yeah...” Tim responds.

“Is there any particular place you want to visit during your time on the surface?”

Timothy thinks about the event that occured earlier today/last night. He has to tell someone about it, Dick was the right person. He always trusts Dick with his secrets.

“Dick... I have to tell you something.” Tim whispers as he turns around to face the older man.

“Anything, little bro.” Dick says as he brushes Tim’s hair out of his face.

“But... not here...”  
Tim gently grabs Dick’s hand and silently leaves the castle.

“Where are we going, Timmy?” Dick asks confused.

Tim doesn’t answer.

—

After a few minutes Tim and Dick have arrived at Tim’s secret cave. Timothy carefully moves a few big rocks out of the way and enters the cave. Dick follows him inside.

“Timmy, what is this?” Dick asks slightly worried.

“My treasure, Dick” Tim says with a soft smile on his face.

“This is... how did you find all this? You haven’t visited the surface world yet, have you?” Dick asks while looking around the cave, not daring to touch any of the objects.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about...” Tim says as he picks up an old broken chest piece.  
“I...” he puts the chest piece down and faces his older brother. “This morning... I went to the surface world...”

Dick’s eyes widen and his jaw drops. “What?! Timothy, please please please don’t tell me you’re serious?”

“I am, Dick. I am. I couldn’t resist it. And I finally got to see the stars you always talk about! And I also met a man-“ Tim get’s interrupted.

“No Tim! You can’t possibly expect me to accept this.”  
“This!” Dick says while pointing to the human world goodies.  
“I hope you know that this will have some serious consequences!”

“I saved a man, Dick! He was drowning. I saved him!” Tim adds quickly. “And all of this, I found them here. In the sea-“ he gets interrupted again.

“A man? A human being man?...Tim, I’m sorry. I need to inform father about this.” Dick says as he slowly swims away from Tim. “What you did was very dangerous, Tim.”

“No, Dick! You can’t! Father will forbid me to visit the surface world ever again!” Tim says as his voice starts shaking. “He will destroy all of this... all of me!”

“You could have died!” Dick yells. “What if that man was faking it? We, mer people are nothing but ugly fish to them! We have tails and they have legs! We are getting served on plates and they are.... they are...-“ Dick stops talking as he notices the way Tim looks at him. He‘s started crying.  
“I’m so sorry, Timmy. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Dick swims away, leaving Timothy behind in tears.

—

“Prince Timothy, King Bruce is expecting you.” Alfred says.

When their mother passed away, Alfred was the one who took care of Tim. He read bed-time stories, He learned him how to take care of his tail, he took over the role of a mother to raise the three of them. Bruce is busy ruling over an entire ocean so he could use all the help he could get.

Tim leaves his bed and swims towards Alfred. Bruce will understand, he has to.

—

“You will not visit the surface world today.” Bruce says with his jaw clenched. “Nor will you ever again.”

 

Tim starts crying. He held it back for too long.  
“Father, please. I beg of you...” He says hoping it would change Bruce’s mind.

 

“Enough!” Bruce leaves his throne and grabs Tim by his arm.  
“Lead me... to the cave.”

Tim tries to untangle himself from Bruce’s grip but the much bigger man doesn’t let go. Tim can’t beat Steph when it comes to strength let alone Bruce.

“Father...-“

“NOW! My patience has reached it’s limit, Timothy”  
Bruce yells as his aura darkens the entire throne  
room.

—

Tim hides his face in his hands and quickly swims towards the cave.

He rests his hand on the rocks, covering the entrance.

Bruce destroys the rocks with one blow of his trident as he enters the cave.

He looks around the cave in disbelief.  
“This... how could you? My own son has betrayed me...” He swims towards the statue of the man. “Who is this?”

“I... found it a few years ago” Tim responds with a broken voice.

“Years?! YEARS?! YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS?” The anger in Bruce’s voice knows no limit. “I will not allow this. I won’t allow any of this!”

 

He starts destroying all of Tim’s collection. The Chests, Silverware, Candleholders, Mirrors, Jewelry, Fishing equipment, Barrels, Thimbles, Statues, Paintings, Globes, Pottery-

“Father please! Father stop it!” Tim tried to stop Bruce.

Chess pieces, Furniture, Pocket watches, Compasses, Corkscrews, Glasses, Dishes, Goblets, Music boxes, Parasols-

“F-father, I beg of you. Please!”

Musical instruments, all of them. Gone. Shattered into hundres of pieces, falling down to the ground.

Bruce swims towards the last object still standing. The statue of the man who looked like Jason.

“No, father! Please!” Tim covers the statue behind his own little body but Bruce easily pushes him out of the way.

“You- You don’t even know them!” Tim yells as his voice breaks midway.

”I know them all too wel!” Bruce yells back.He then shatters the statue with one mighty blow of his trident.

Tim falls down and holds the pieces of the statue, trying to puzzle it together, crying like he never had before. He gives up as he drops his face into his arms and can’t do anything but cry. He has nothing left, nothing.

Bruce immediately becomes horrified and feels the regret building up by broken boy, weeping in front of him.

He quickly turns around and leaves the cave in shame.

-

“Happy birthday to you!” The mer people sing to Timothy.

Everyone in the entire ocean is invited and only today, are the doors to the castle open to anyone and everyone. (Ofcourse there were a ton of guards, guarding the castle but that aside.)

Alot of the mermaids and merman had come from far away. They came for only one thing. To hear Tim’s beautiful voice.

Every year on Tim’s birthday, he would sing a siren song to amuse the mer. However, it did much more than “amuse” them. His voice would take away all of their sadness and anger, that’s how pure his voice is.

Tim had joined the table and was sitting next to his older sister, Steph. Dick was trying to make eye contact with Tim ever since he returned but he hasn’t succeeded.

—

Bruce puts one hand up and everyone becomes silent.  
“Thank you all for joining me and my children on this... wonderful day.” Bruce says reminding himself of what happened a few hours ago. “I am saddened to announce that my dear son Timothy, will not be singing tonight.”

Everyone starts to whispers things to each other and alot of them are looking disappointed.

Tim leaves his chair and swims away. He knows how many eyes are focused on him right now but he doesn’t care, he needs to be alone.

—

“Prince Timothy... Prince Timothy?” Alfred says on the other side of the door. “May I enter?” He asks.

Tim had been alone for a few hours now so he doesn’t mind some company. Especially when it’s Alfred.

“Yes...” Tim says when pulling away his face from his pillow.

Alfred enters the room, closing the door behind him and puts down a plate of some treats he assembled.

“These are your favourite.” He says proud.

“Thank you, Alfred” Tim says as he accepts the plate and starts eating the food.

After a few minutes of silence, Alfred starts talking.  
“How was your first experience?” He asks with a friendly but curious look on his face.

Tim is shocked by the question. He doesn’t want to talk about it but Alfred is the only one besides Steph who hasn’t hurt him today.

“It was... like a dream come true” Tim answers, putting down the plate on his nightstand.

“Have you met someone there?” Alfred asks.

Tim knows where this is going to. He wants to tell Alfred but he is traumatised by what happened earlier.

“I met... a man.” He says. “A prince”

“Go on” Alfred says with a soft smile on his face.

“He was very handsome and I saved him when he was drowning. I sang for him and kissed him.” Tim says.

“Do you know his name?” Alfred asks.

“Why? Will you tell my father about it” Tim asks.

“No, I promise you this will stay between the two of us.”

“His name is Jason. Prince Jason.” Tim responds.

Alfred looks away for a few seconds.  
“Do you by any chance remember the name of the ship he was sailing on?” He then asks curiously.

“I think it was called... ‘the Hood’” Tim says.

Alfred nods as he knows who Tim is talking about.  
“You met prince Jason Todd.”

“Do you know him?” Tim asks as his eyes widen.

“Despite being of royalty, Jason is a skilled helmsman. I have seen him steering ships before.” Alfred says.

Tim can’t believe it. Alfred knows who Jason is.

“This could be due to the fact that his kingdom is coastal and most of his subjects make their livings by shipping and fishing and-“ Alfred can’t finish his sentence.

“Please Alfred, tell me everything you know about him” Tim says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And? How was it? Good? If not, what can I do to improve my writing?
> 
> And yes, the little mermaid has cried underwater. Not with actual tears but still, she can cry.  
> Feedback is much appreciated!
> 
> Until next time.


	3. His voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason knows the person who saved him, isn’t a ‘she’...but a ‘he’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’ve added some music to chapter 1, and I will keep adding music to chapters to really give it that ’disney’ feeling to it. You don’t have to actually listen to it, I just think it’s a nice touch.  
> These songs are in Dutch, English and probably in Russian too. I use the Dutch ones because those are the brand new versions of the songs, instrumental-wise, I mean.  
> And no, this fic isn’t a musical nor will it turn into one. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading,
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Alfred and Tim had spent the entire night talking about prince Jason.

Alfred told Tim where the prince came from, and where his palace stood.

“Come, Prince Timothy,” he said.  
Then they entwined their arms and rose up in a long row to the surface of the water, close by the spot where Alfred knew the prince’s palace stood. 

It was built of shining white shining stone, with long flights of marble steps, one of which reached quite down to the sea. Splendid gilded cupolas rose over the roof, and between the pillars that surrounded the whole building stood life-like statues of marble.  
Through the clear crystal of the lofty windows could be seen noble rooms, with costly silk curtains and hangings of tapestry; while the walls were covered with beautiful paintings which were a pleasure to look at. In the centre of the largest saloon a fountain threw its sparkling jets high up into the glass cupola of the ceiling, through which the sun shone down upon the water and upon the beautiful plants growing round the basin of the fountain. 

“Thank you, Alfred” Tim said as he hugs the older man tightly. “But won’t you get in trouble for doing this?” 

“As I said before my prince, this will stay between the two of us.” Alfred winks at Tim and dives into the sea, heading back to the castle.

Now that Tim knows where Jason lives, the pain he had experienced earlier has slightly lessened.

“Don’t worry Roy, we know he’s safe. We just have to wait for him to return.” A woman’s voice speaks.

Tim quickly hides at the big narrow channel under the marble balcony, which threw a broad shadow on the water. 

“It’s all my fault Kori, it happened because I was reckless. I should have drowned! Not Jason, but me!” A boy, whom Tim thinks is probably Roy, says.

“Don’t you say that! You can’t swim but Jason can. The outcome could have been far worse, Roy.” The woman says.

“Worse than a missing prince?” 

“He isn’t missing, the girl saved him and he’s fine now.” She says

_The girl? What? But I saved him! I did. ___

__“But what if she hadn’t?” Roy asks._ _

___She didn’t do anything, I did it! I saved Jason. ____ _

____“But she did. So stop worrying, you cant revert time. I want you to relax, Roy.” The woman says._ _ _ _

____“How did she even save Jason? We lost him in the middle of the ocean! He couldn’t have survived long enough to reach land nor could she have possibly reached him in time .” Roy asks._ _ _ _

_____How you ask? Not is the answer. It was me who risked my life to save him, why is she getting all the credit? ____ _ _ _

______“I have no clue. Maybe she is a mermaid?” The woman says._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Really Kori? Mermaids? You believe they actually exist?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I do, don’t ask me why. I just do” she says with a sheepish tone._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Okay...? Have you seen the paintings of them on the market? They look disgusting. Their tails have a big layer of slime on them to protect them from drying out, grosd.” Roy says disgusted._ _ _ _ _ _

______Tim looks down at his tail as it glinsters in the sea. There is barely any slime on it, really. Besides, the little bit of slime on their tailes have a healing effect on any cuts or bruises so it’s actually not disgusting at all._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I don’t know. I don’t think the paintings do them justice.” The woman says._ _ _ _ _ _

______Tim likes her, he really does._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I have never seen a mermaid before, but I expect them to be very pretty! You know they used to feast on sailors, right?” She then adds._ _ _ _ _ _

_______That is true... but we’re not proud of it. ____ _ _ _ _ _

________“And now it’s the other way around” Roy laughs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Tim doesn’t like Roy at all._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________This man is so ignorant! ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________—_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Then days had passed and Timothy would hide underneath the balcony every night and wait for his prince to arrive home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bruce tried to talk to him but he’d just swim away. Same goes for Dick. He still talks to Stephanie but she has no idea what Tim has been doing every night._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________—_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________After a week Jason finally arrives home.  
Tim was hiding in his usual spot as he was spying on Kori and Roy until he heard an unfamiliar voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Jason! You’re back!” Kori squeeks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Yeah, didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” Jason says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim’s chest tightens and he throws away the shell he was playing with earlier. This is the moment he has been waiting for._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Jason-“ Roy get’s interrupted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Don’t.” Jason says. “It was not your fault.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There is a minute of silence until Kori starts talking.  
“I’ll leave the two of you alone.” She says. She closes the door behind her and now the silence is overwhelming._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’m sorry, Jason. I really am.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What for?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“For leaving you behind after you saved me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Did you? Leave me behind?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Yes, I did. I left you to die. I was- am a coward....” Roy says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What could you possibly have done at that moment, Roy? You can’t swim and would have brought your ow life in danger. You would have died and left Kori behind with a broken heart and nowhere to go!” Jason says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There it is again. The silence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“How did you get saved? How did she save you?” Roy asks after a few minutes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Except, she didn’t do anything. I did. ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“She...was beautiful..” Jason says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Was? As in the past? Did she leave you or...” Roy asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“No. The girl you’re talking about, isn’t the one who saved me. Someone else did. I don’t remember her face but I know her voice.” Jason answers. “She sang me awake. Well she actually kissed me first and then sang to me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Tim’s face starts heating up.  
_He was awake when I kissed him? _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Was she a good kisser?” Roy asks with a teasing tone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“The best. Her lips were softer than anything I’ve felt before. Her voice... her voice sounded like...-“_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Like what?” Roy asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Nevermind.” Jason quickly says as he sighs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Tell me, Jason. I know exactly when something is bothering you.” Roy says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Well...I think... ‘She’ is actually... a ‘he’.” Jason whispers to Roy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Roy doesn’t say anything for a minute. “Would you mind that? She being a he, I mean.” He then asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“I know two guys can’t be together-“ Jason can’t finish his sentence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Says who?” Roy asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Who doesn’t. I mean, I have never been in love with a guy before but if this were to be a guy... Roy, I long to be with this person. Their voice, their lips, they saved me.” Jason says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Tim doesn’t understand why two people of the same gender can’t be together. In fact, some of the mermans can actually get pregnant! It’s pretty normal for two guys or two girls to be in love, where he comes from._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________He longs to be...with me. ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“So what are you going to do now?” Roy asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“For now, I need to find this kid. That’s for certain. He was gone when I opened my eyes, I have searched the whole island for days but I couldn’t find him anywhere.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“You searched for days? You really like this person, huh. Okay then, I’ll help you find him. It’s the least I can do after he saved you.” Roy says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Thank you, Roy. And uhm, can we keep this a secret from my parents? Oh, and Kori also?... you know what, let’s keep this between the two of us, Okay?” Jason asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Whatever works for you, my friend.” Roy says “Is there anything else you want to talk about?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“No... thank you.” Jason says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Thank you, Jason. I’m glad you’re back.” Roy says as he pulls Jason into a tight hug. He opens the balcony door and leaves._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________—_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________The wind is starting to nibble on Tim’s skin. He has been outside for hours now. He prepares to leave until he hears Jason saying something._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________[https://youtu.be/9I8fpGo0xIM this song is part of the following scene.]_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________“And his voice...It's sweet as angels sighing.”  
“And his voice it was warm as summer sky.”  
“And that sound it haunts my dreams.”  
“And spins me 'round until it seems I’m flying...”  
“His voice...”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Tim dives back into the water as Jason returns to Roy and Kori._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for... the Joker.
> 
>  
> 
> Feedback on my writing is always appreciated. I respect your opinions alot.


	4. Wouldn't I love, love to explore that shore up above?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim would sacrifice all of his to be with Jason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your comments, they aspire me alot ^~^
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy reading!

The following days, not much had happened. Bruce took small steps by talking to Tim. “How was your day?” He would ask. Tim would answer his questions and then return to his room. 

He only saw Dick around diner time but didn’t talk to him. He does exchange a few smiles now and then but no more hugs for Dick.

Things between Tim and Alfred however, couldn’t go any better. Tim has told Alfred how Jason longs to be with Tim. He also told him about Roy and Kori.

Alfred was surprised to hear Kori’s name.

“Miss Kori? Miss Koriand’r?” He asked surprised.

“Kori. Just Kori from what I’ve heard.” Tim answers. “Why is that, Alfred? Do you know her?”

“Perhaps. Can you describe this woman for me, Timothy?” Alfred asks as he adds a pinch of something to the soup he’s making.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to see her from up close but from what I have seen she has golden-brown skin, long flowing red hair and a voluptuous figure.” Tim answers as he helps Alfred by chopping some coral to add to the soup.

“That’s her. That’s Koriand’r.” Alfed laughs. “I met her a few years ago when I was at the surface to collect something for King Bruce.”

Alfred then takes a sip of the soup. “She’s a very friendly lady, Timothy.” 

“I know, she doesn’t trash talk us unlike her friend Roy. He calls us disgusting and what not.” Tim sighs.

“Well my dear boy, that’s how most of the human beings think of us.” 

“Jason doesn’t! He wants to be with me. He doesn’t mind me having a tail.” Tim says as he looks down at his tail. 

Alfred laughs at Tim’s innocence. “I hope he doesn’t my boy, I hope he doesn’t.”

“Jason is better than that, Alfred. I know it. I heard some fishermen talking and they were saying so many good things about the doings of Jason. He’s a hero and I... I’m just glad I saved him.” Tim says as he starts blushing.

“Come here.” Alfred says as he pulls Timothy into a hug. “You deserve the best, dear child.”

—

After diner Tim returns to his room, waiting for the night to come so that he can visit Jason’s castle again.

“Blub blub, Can I come in?” Steph asks on the other side of the door.

Tim hesitates for a second. “S-sure, come in” he stutters.

She enters the room and quickly rushes towards him and pulls him into a hug. “Tim, how are you?”

“I’m fine, Steph. Thank you.” 

“I’m so sorry for what happened. I tried to talk Bruce out of it but he was so angry and-“ she stops talking and sits down on Tim’s bed. “I’m sorry, Timmy.” She then says.

“It’s not your fault, but mine. I wasn’t careful, I was stupid to break the rules.” And then Tim remembers  
How he was lying on top of Jason, and how heartily he had kissed him. If Steph knew about this....If Bruce knew about this Tim would be shark food. Only married couples are allowed to lay on each other and kiss one another. 

But she knew nothing of all this and neither did Bruce.

“If there is something I can do for you, just ask me.” She says as she swims back to the door.

“Steph.” Tim quickly calls her back.

“Yes?” She quickly turns around to face her younger brother.

“Do you think a human and mer could ever be together? In love, I mean...” Tim asks.

“Everything is possible in the name of love, Tim.” She swims back, towards him. She says nothing for a few minutes. She has a hesitating look on her face.

“A few years ago-“ she starts whispering now. “There was a mermaid who had met a woman on the surface world, a pirate. They fell in love. The mermaid knew that there was no way the pirate could ever survive underwater nor could she survive on land so she did something horrible. She left home, and took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the evil sorcerer lived. She did it all for love. Love knows no boundaries, Timmy.”

Tim had heard about him, the Joker. Bruce doesn’t talk about him but from Tim has heard, the man can make any wish come true at a cost. Tim doesn’t know why Steph calls him Evil... why everyone calls hims evil.

“But the mermaid never returned home...” Steph then adds.

“What cost is considered too high to be with the one you love?” Tim asks.

Stephanie narrows her eyes for a second. “The cost thats costs you your life.” She then answers. “What use is there for love when you die?” 

“Thank you, Steph.” Tim says as he gets back into his bed.

“Goodnight Timmy.” She gives him a smile and then leaves his room, closing the door behind her.

That night Tim had spent at his castle instead of the shadows of Jason’s castle.

—

Tim has grown more and more fond of human beings, and wished more and more to be able to wander about with those whose world seemed to be so much larger than his own. 

They could fly over the sea in ships, and mount the high hills which were far above the clouds; and the lands they possessed, their woods and their fields, stretched far away beyond the reach of his sight. 

There was so much that he wished to know, and Alfred was unable to answer all his questions. 

“Alfred, can a human being live on forever?” Tim asks as Alfred is preparing breakfast.

“Their term of life is shorter than ours. They can live up to a 150 years while we can live up to 300 years.  
Alfred says. “But when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water, and we have not even a grave down here of those we love. We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, like the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the other hand, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water, and behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see.” He adds.

“Why don’t we have and immortal soul?” Tim asks mournfully. “I would gladly sacrifice all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to get one...” 

“You must not think of that,” Alfred says. “Mer people live much happier lives than most human beings could ever wish to live.”

“So I shall die,” says Tim, “and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun.” 

There is a short silence where both men think about what has just been said.

“Alfred, Is there anything I can do to win an immortal soul?” Tim asks, breaking the silence.

“No,” said the older man, “unless a person were to love you so much that you would have a special place in their heart; and if all their thoughts and all their love were fixed upon you and they promised to be true to you here and hereafter, then their soul would glide into your body and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind. They would give a soul to you and retain their own as well; but this can never happen. Your fish’s tail, which amongst us is considered so beautiful, is thought on earth to be quite ugly; they do not know any better, and they think it necessary to have two stout props, which they call legs, in order to be handsome.” Alfred says as he shakes his head.

“You don’t have to worry, my son.” He then adds. “Live your 300 years and take a well earned rest after that.”

Tim sighs. This breaks his heart. Knowing that he will live long enough to see Jason die. Knowing that Jason will be somewhere Tim can’t ever hope to be. He looks sorrowfully at his fish’s tail.

 

“This evening we are going to have a court ball.  
It is one of those splendid sights which you could never hope to see on earth.” Alfred says patting Timothy on his shoulder. “I do hope you will sing for us tonight, my prince.” 

“I will, Alfred.” Tim says with a soft smile on his face.

—

The walls and the ceiling of the large ball-room were of thick, but transparent crystal. There were hundreds of colossal shells, some of a deep red, others of a grass green, stood on each side in rows, with blue fire in them, which lighted up the whole saloon, and shone through the walls, so that the sea was also illuminated.  
Fishes and the mermen and the mermaids were dancing to the music of their own sweet singing.  
No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs. 

But their voice is nothing compared to Tim’s.

—

The whole court applauded him with hands and tails; and for a moment his heart felt at ease, for he knew he had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea. 

Dick was dancing with woman he met that night. Barbara was her name. She looks stunning. Tim was happy for Dick, he really was. 

Dick is a great brother to Tim. What he did a few weeks ago, doesn’t change that for Tim. Dick deserves to be happy.

But Tim soon thought again of the world above him, for he could not forget the charming prince, nor his sorrow that he had not an immortal soul like his.

“Tim, my son. That was beautiful. Your voice is as pretty as your mother’s voice was.” Bruce says proudly.

Bruce rarely compliments anyone so to Tim, this came as a big surprise.

“Thank you, father. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Tim responds. 

After the above, Tim got alot more compiments during the night.

—

Everyone is singing and enjoying their night. Except for Tim. He can’t help but wonder how Jason spends his night.

“Can I offer you a drink, my prince?” A woman asks.

Tim looks up and is met with a worried face. A blonde haired woman with pink and blue highlights inside her hair, she has icy blue eyes and a pinkish tail.

“No thank you, I’m fine.” He quickly responds.

“You seem sad, Can I help ya with something?” She then asks.

“I’m sorry to have worried you, miss. It’s just a stupid dream I had last night.” He then lies.

“Dreams ain’t stupid.” She then responds to the lie. “A dream is a wish your heart makes, ya know?” 

She is right. His dream to be with Jason comes from his heart.  
“My heart is telling me to go but my thoughts are keeping me here and I... I’m just not sure what to do.” Tim says.

“Then why don’t you visit the Joker? He’s been in this town for almost a week now, after tonight he won’t be available for years! Better take your chance now, ma Prince.” She whispers into his ear and then walks away.

“The Joker? Isn’t he evi-“ Tim turns around but the woman is gone.

Tim looks at Dick, he’s swimming happily, and talking to Barbara. 

He then looks at Steph who is singing for a crowd, enjoying herself.

He then looks at Bruce who is looking at him. After a few seconds of locking gazes, Bruce looks back at Stephanie, enjoying her singing voice as he closes his eyes.

Tim crept away silently out of his father’s palace, and while everything within was gladness and song,  
He was feeling gloomy.

Tim will venture all for Jason, and to win an immortal soul, while my siblings are dancing and singing in my father’s palace, I will go to the Joker, of whom Bruce had never dared to talk about, but he can give me counsel and help.

 

And then the little merman went out from the garden, and took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the sorcerer lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***
> 
> So basically, Stephanie takes on the role of Ariel’s sisters and Dick takes on the role of Sebastian for those who haven’t noticed yet.
> 
> ***
> 
> My supply of chapters has almost ran out, but don’t worry. I’ll keep providing you of chapters <3
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, feedback is always appreciated.


	5. Poor unfortunate soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim visits the Joker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update:
> 
> Some of the chapters will have pictures included so look forward to that!  
> All the credit for these pictures go to Disney, none of it is mine.
> 
> WARNING: Tim’s tongue will get cut off in this chapter so if that triggers you, swim away please.
> 
> Thank you for reading,
> 
> Enjoy!

**** ~~~~

Timothy had never been this far from the kingdom before. Neither flowers nor grass grows here; nothing but bare, gray, sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool, where the water, like foaming mill-wheels, whirls round everything that it seizes, and casts it into the fathomless deep

A few miles away stood his house, in the centre of a strange forest, in which all the trees and flowers are polypi, half animals and half plants; they look like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground.

The branches are long slimy arms, with fingers like flexible worms, moving limb after limb from the root to the top.

Tim is so alarmed at what he sees, that he stands still for a few minutes. His heart beating in fear.

_Should I go back? I can still make it back alive...  
No, I can do this. I will do this for Jason._

__And so his courage returned. He binds his long hair round his head, so that the polypi might not seize hold of it._ _

___3,2,1...._ _ _

____He immedately darts forward as a fish shooting through the water, between the supple arms and fingers of the ugly polypi, which are stretched out on each side of him._ _ _ _

____The white skeletons of human beings who had drowned at sea, and had sunk down into the deep waters were lying tightly grasped by their slinking arms; even a little mermaid, whom they had caught and strangled. This disturbs Tim the most of all._ _ _ _

____He now arrives at a house, built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings._ _ _ _

____Tim carefully opens the door and peeks inside._ _ _ _

_____It’s dark inside. I can’t see anything!_ _ _ _ _

______He enters the house and the door closes on it’s own, creating a loud cracking noise._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I know what you want,” says a low voice._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Joker? Is that you?” Tim softly whispers._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Joker, Sea witch, Cannibal, call me wathever you want dearie.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I... You know what I want?” Tim asks not daring to look up, where the voice is coming from._ _ _ _ _ _

______“The only way to get what you want is to become a human yourself.” The Joker says as he swims around Tim, touching Tim’s tail a few times which sends shivers down Tim’s spine._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Can you do that?” Tim asks pulling his tail to himself._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Ofcourse I can, sweet child. It’s my duty to help unfortunate merfolk like yourself.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Is it possible for me to get a soul?” Tim asks now trying to get a glimpse of the man, swimming around him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yeah.... ofcouuuurse it’s possible for you to get a soul.” The man whispers in Tim’s ear, gently licking his ear._ _ _ _ _ _

______Tim doesn’t dare to push the man away, he’s too scared to do so._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Joker, don’t try to fool me. I know that you’re a witch who "helps" merfolk, only to achieve your own goals” Tim says as he turns around to face the older man._ _ _ _ _ _

_______He stands face to face with a plump light green-skinned, Dark green-haired cecaelia from the waist down with six black octopus-like tentacles and violet suckers._ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Tim is frightened. The man is huge compared to Tim. He may even be bigger than King Bruce._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________The area around the Joker’s eyes are a darker shade than the rest of his skin, he has completely black eyes and deep red lips._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I admit that in the past I've been a nasty. They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch.”  
The Joker sings as he swims past Timothy and searches through a stack of potions._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________After a few seconds he continues singing. “I fortunately know a little magic, It's a talent that I always have possessed. And here lately, please don't laugh, I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed pathetic.”  
He grabs a few potions and a tiny sea creature as he returns to his witch kettle._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty prince. You want to get rid of your fish’s tail, to have two legs instead of it, like human beings on earth, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may have an immortal soul bla bla bla” And then he laughs so loud and disgustingly, that the creature he’s holding in his hand starts crying._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim looks at the poor thing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You want a bite?” The Joker asks teasingly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The Joker devours the creature with his sharp teeth.  
“You are but just in time,” he then says; “I will prepare a potion for you, with which you must swim to land before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what humans calls legs”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Really, thank you so mu-“ Tim can’t finish his sentence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“But at every step you take it will feel as if you are treading upon sharp knives, and that the blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I will help you.”  
The man says with a big smile on his face, exposing the blood, staining his teeth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Yes, I will,” Tim says in a trembling voice, as he thinks of the prince and the immortal soul._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“But think again, dearie” the Joker says pulling Tim closer with one of his tentacle. “for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid. And if you do not win the love of the prince, you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will become foam on the crest of the waves.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“He won’t. He loves me.” Tim says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Sure he does!” The other man responds._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“B-but if I become human, I'll never be with my father or siblings again...” Tim hesitates. He knew that this would be one of the sacrifices he has to make but now it really sinks into him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“But you'll have your man. Life is full of tough choices, isn't it? The Joker says. “Oh, and there is one more thing.” He pulls Tim even closer. “We haven't discussed the subject of payment.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim tries to untangle himself but the tentacles’ grip on him is getting even tighter. “But I don't have-“_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I'm not asking much, just a token really, a trifle.”  
The man says._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“And what may that token be?” Tim asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“What I want is... your voice.” The man whispers into Tim’s ear. “You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught. Don’t forget that I have to add my own blood to the potion!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“But without my voice, I can’t sing a siren anymore... then how will Jason-“ Tim get’s interrupted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You'll have your looks, your pretty face and don't underestimate the importance of body language,HA HA HA HA!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim thinks about it for a few minutes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Well, have you lost your courage? Put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I will do it,” Tim says as his skin has turned paler than it usually is._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________”Oh wait, I almost forgot.” The joker says as he creates a contract with his magic. “You will have to sign this. It’s nothing special, just that you agree to give your voice to me and bla die bla Ha Ha!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Timothy takes the pen and quickly signs the contract._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Then the Joker places his kettle on the fire, to prepare the magic potion. He starts throwing things into the vessel, and when it begins to boil, he takes an empty bottle and fills it with the liquid._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“There it is for you,” the Joker says. “Now show me your tongue.” The man approaches Tim and holds him still._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Dick...Steph, Father...I’m so sorry.” Tim whispers.__________

__________”Wait wait wait, I want you to sing for me.... Sing a siren song for me!” The Joker says with a grin on his face._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim does as he is told and starts singing the song he learned from his mother._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________After a few seconds the_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __________Joker grabs Tim and pulls out his tongue, he cuts it off and then pushes him back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The man waits until Tim is done crying out in pain, and then loses his grip on him._ _________

__Tim immediately feels the emptiness inside his mouth. His brain still remembers the specific commands to move his tongue up, down, stick it out, etc. He can still perform those commands and he can "sense" an imaginary tongue following the commands, but of course nothing happens. He inserts a finger inside his mouth and feels nothing, only liquid. When he opens his mouth there are no words coming out of it, only blood._ _

 

__“Ugh, don’t start crying now. The drop of my blood inside of the potion will close the wound. Now leave, the smell of your blood is tempting. I can’t promise to hold back any longer._ _

__Tim closes his mouth and opens the door, leaving the house and not daring to look back._  
_

__”HA HA HA HA! No more siren songs for you, dearie.” The Joker says as he closes the door._ _

_—_

__________Tim feels as if his heart will break._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He passed quickly through the wood and the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools.  
He swims back to the castle and enters Bruce’s room._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The man is sleeping.  
I am so sorry, father._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Tim kisses him on his hand and then does the same to Dick and Steph._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________To Alfred, he leaves his purple necklace._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He quickly leaves the castle and then rises up through the dark blue waters._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The sun has not risen yet but the moon shines clear and bright._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Then the little merman spits out all of the blood and drinks the magic draught, it feels like a two-edged sword goes right through his delicate body: he falls into a swoon, and lies on the ground like a corpse._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated.


	6. Up where they walk, Up where they run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim finally meets Jason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> I`m sorry I haven`t posted for so long. School was being a dick to me.  
> Thank you for all the comments and kudos, I appreciate them.
> 
> WARNING~ Tim will be doing some (kinky) stuff in this chapter. If that bothers you please swim away!.
> 
> I hope you`ll enjoy reading this chapter!

When the sun arises and shines over the sea, Tim wakes up. He sits up and immediately feels a sharp pain going across his spine.  
_This hurts... but I will bear with it. I’m not going to give up after coming so far._

Tim looks at the sea, missing already what he has left behind.  
_Father, Dick and Steph. I’m sorry._  
Tim tried to convince Bruce but that did not go well. Stay? But what about love? Bruce is devoted to his family. He would never let his son leave, so why bother talking about it?  
His fingers stretch out, seeking the scales on his tail but finding only the soft feeling of skin, covered in golden sand. His tail is gone and instead, he has a pair of legs.  
_These... these are legs! They are so cute and soft compared to a tail._

He notices a little crab running by. He grabs the little creature and carefully puts it on his leg.  
_Doesn’t it feel funny, little crab? The crab desperately tries to escape but Tim pulls him back. He pats the creature and it cuts into his legs with it’s sharp claws.  
_Ouuuch! Why did you…?__

__Tim’s leg starts bleeding. The blood is a different colour than he’s used to. As a mer, his blood was gold but now it’s red. He carefully puts the creature down and smudges the blood away with his bare hand.  
_It stings so much but I’m sure my tail will heal itself- Oh wait. I don’t have a tail anymore. Do human legs heal by themselves too?__ _

 

He looks around him and notices the castle of the prince, in the far distance.  
_That’s it. I have to swim... uhm, walk towards it._

Tim attempts to stand up but every time he stands on his feet it feels as if he was walking on top of sharp knives. And then he attempts to walk, hands clenched in fists at his sides, walking with stiff, small steps up toward the castle in the distance.  
After a few steps he falls down on his knees.  
_This is going to be harder than I thought it would be._

______________—_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________

“We’ve catched quite alot of ‘em today, haven’t we Jason?” Roy asks, shooting Jason a statisfied look.

“We sure did.” Jason answers as he returns the statisfied look. “It’s late morning and we already have a dozen fish. Let’s get this baby back on land and return home. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Roy safely secures their catch as they beach their boat at the shore.  
“So the queen is really going to proceed with her ridiculous plan?” Roy asks with a worried expression on his face.

“Mother doesn’t want to force me, Roy. She just-“ Jason can’t finish his sentence. He notices a little girl in the distance.  
She can’t stand up, looks like she… is that blood running down her leg?  
He runs towards the person and he reaches him just as he is about to mount the steps. With one sweep of his arm, he catches the boy as he was about to fall.  
“Jason? Oi, Jason? Where are you going?” Roy yells in the distance.

“Easy kid, easy.” Jason says as he sits down next to Tim. He has now noticed that the person sitting in front of him is a boy, not a girl. “What brings you to my castle?” He then asks.

Tim sits up and looks at the older man, not answering his question.  
_It’s him! It’s Jason. I can’t believe it. He looks even more handsome than when I saved him._  
He presses his lips together and then smiles instead.

Jason doesn't know the boy really, but there's a faint recognition there.  
“Can I have your name then?” Jason asks.

Tim can’t talk. So instead of answering with words, pulls Jason into a tight hug.

Unfortunately for Tim, Roy chooses this time to come staggering across the beach to shout at him. "Keep your hands off the prince, naked pervert!” he hollers.

Tim puts his hands behind his back and stares into the red head’s eyes.

“Yeah, you. Don’t touch him or I’ll chop of your tiny fingers.” Roy says with a sharp tone in his voice as he stares down at the younger boy.

Tim shoots him a furious look. _Who does he think he is? I can kick his tail all day long._ Jason notices the offensive interactions between the two and decides to step in. “Roy, that’s not fair. I hugged him first.” He lies as he stares into Tim’s sapphire blue eyes.

Roy sighs and rubs the side of his face tiredly. “Jason, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but this kid is naked. He is literally wearing no clothes. None.”  
He notices the cut on Tim’s leg. “And he’s also bleeding.”

Tim looks down at the cut, he then notices something else down there _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _._________________ Something hanging between his legs.

 _What is this? It's looks like a fish..._ Jason laughs loudly at the expression Tim has on his face. He pulls out a napkin from his pocket and carefully dries the wound. A small smile graces Tim’s face as he does.

Jason rips his blouse in half and uses it to cover Tim’s wound. The younger boy touches Jason’s hand and notices it's so rough compared to his own. He then pulls back and glances at Roy, who has his arms crossed across his chest.

Tim smiles, knowing by now that Roy is more bark than bite from all he’s heard while spying on him and Kori. Roy watches his movements closely, like he’s analyzing each and every step the young boy is taking. As far as steps go, that is.

“There. That should do it.” Jason says as he stands up again. “Can you stand?” He asks.  
Tim shakes his head.  
“I’m sure you can, the wound isn’t that deep.” Jason smirks as he reaches for Tim’s hand. “I’ll help you.”  
Tim accepts the offer and carefully stands on his feet again. He falls down but Jason supports him, accidentally touching Tim’s butt as he does.  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“  
The amused look Roy has on his face makes Tim curious as to why Jason apologized. He touches the place, Jason had accidentally touched.

 _Ehh... why is there a split down here?_ He inserts one of his fingers inside of the split. _It’s so tight. What is this?_

Jason and Roy’s eyes widen at the sight, jaws drop as both of them look at Tim in disbelief.  
“Did you fall down and smack your little head?” Jason asks as he pulls away Tim’s hand from where it had been toying.  
Tim shakes his head, looking at Jason with those beautiful blue eyes of his. He want to talk but there are no words coming out of his mouth.

“Well?” Roy raises his voice, he's run out of patience now. “Say something.”  
Tim hovers his fingers around his lips.  
“You can’t talk?” Jason asks, looking down at the young boy in front of him.  
Tim shakes his head again.  
Roy narrows his eyes. “And why is that?”  
Tim looks down at his new feet as if they would answer that question for him.  
“Did your tongue get cut off or something?” Roy then asks.  
Jason chuckles. “Yeah, Roy. His tongue got cut off and that’s why he can’t talk.”  
Tim is shocked. _How does he know?_ He then immediately nods to answer the question.

“I knew it, Jason! It’s a pervert whose tongue got cut off as a punishment.” Roy says with a disgusted look on his face. Tim shakes his head and he points to his legs.  
“You can’t talk because of... your legs?” Roy asks. Tim looks away, giving up on speaking without words but still holds onto Jason’s arms for support. Standing on his feet hurts as hell. He has never felt so much pain before. He’s cold and in so much pain.  
He can feel the tears streaming down his face.  
_My eyes are melting! Oh no. I’m turning into foam already? But-_  
Jason is reaching out and ruffling the shorter man’s hair.“Don’t cry, kid.” He says with a soft voice. “A warm bath and a hot meal will do you good. Come on now...the palace isn’t far.” And he wraps Tim in his own coat. "We should get you some clothes as well. A cute boy like yourself shouldn't walk around naked."

Tim looks at Jason mildly and sorrowfully. He then wipes away the tears from his face and can’t resist the urge to taste them.  
_They taste like the sea._

“He is nuts, Jason.” Roy says with a worried look on his face.  
“I like mad people, Roy. It’s why I hang out with you and Kori.” Jason responds, trying to lighten the mood.

Tim looks at Jason’s bare chest, his abs and his muscled arms.  
_He’s so handsome._

Jason lifts Tim up on his back and Tim initially stiffens at the action, but then relaxes.  
“So first you use your coat to cover this guy and now he is getting a royal ride to the castle?” Roy asks.  
Jason laughs and turns around to face the other man. “I’m a prince, Roy.” he says “It’s my duty to help my people.”  
“Except, he isn’t one of your people. What if he’s a spy? What if he came here to kill you?”  
Jason snorts. “Roy, do you honestly think that this kid can possible harm me?” He says as he raises an eyebrow.

Tim likes the feeling. Jason is warm and heats up Tim’s cold body. He closes his eyes and falls asleep on Jason’s back.

-

“Have you found him?” Bruce concernedly asks to one of his guards.  
The guard shakes his head. “We have searched everywhere. We’ve found no trace of your son, sire.”

Bruce swims towards his throne.“Then keep looking until you do!”  
“Yes, sire.” The guard says as he swims away.

Bruce sits on his throne and grabs the purple necklace Tim had given to Alfred. Alfred gave it to Bruce instead.  
“How could I make this happen. As if the loss of Selina wasn’t hard enough. I never meant to...-“

“‘We’ never meant to.” Dick corrects Bruce.  
The king looks at Dick and his face lights up. “Dick” he says. “I handled wrong. I should have listened to him.”

Dick rests his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, father. We will find him, Steph is already informing everyone in the city about the case.”

Bruce grabs his triton. “Dick, I need you to come with me.” He says, Jaw clenched. “I’m going to pay a visit to my old friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the way Tim examined his body. I just thought it's the most obvious way a teen would react to a penis and a butt when they have never seen one before, hahaha.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated.


	7. If only I could speak and tell you how I feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim combs his hair with a fork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! As I’ve mentioned before, school - exams have consumed all my time so I didn’t have the time to finish this chapter.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading!
> 
> Enjoy :D

 

“With all due respect, Jason, you’ve been scouring the sea for weeks and to what end?” Roy asks as he collects the fishes and puts them inside the bucket.

  
“I vowed to find him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do” Jason sighs. He’s tired, ever since he was stranded on the beach he has spent almost 6 hours a day, searching for his savior.

  
“You already saved that poor guy from yesterday, we need to find his family also.”

  
“I know, Roy. I know.” Jason picks a fish from the bucket and inspects it. “But the guy who saved me… doesn’t he deserve a reward at least?”

  
Roy rests his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “He deserves all the gold in the entire world for saving my best friend. But you should let it go for now. You need to rest. Besides, it won’t be long before you will be the next king and have to rule over an entire kingdom!”  
Jason releases the fish he held in his hand. “I won’t rule over anything if I can’t even find my savior.”  


—

“The poor child washed ashore, like a fish on the dry.”  
  
Tim can hear some voices around him. Female voices, they are.  
  
“Perhaps it was a horrible shipwreck, or pirates!”

  
“I guess we will never know, Prince Jason told me he won’t speak. Not a single word.”

  
“Ladies, please. Let the guy sleep.”

  
Tim recognizes the last voice. It’s Kori’s.  
  
“We are sorry, miss Kori. We shall take our leave.” The maid responds.  
“Can you ask Gar to fill the bathtub? I think a bath will do our boy wonder good when he wakes up.” Kori asks with a gentle voice.

  
“Of course, miss Kori.” The maiden says. “Anything else?”

  
“No, thank you love” Kori whispers as she puts down a glass of water on the nightstand next to Tim.  
  
Tim feels sick. He’s still tired and hungry. He opens his eyes just as Kori throws open the curtains, letting in the blinding sunlight.  
“Good morning, dear.” She says with a soft smile on her face. “Getting your strength back?”  
Tim nods at the question. He sits up and inspects the room. It’s a big chamber, decorated with shades of gold. There is a chandelier, hanging above the custom designed carpet. There is a separate seating area and writing desk. There are also fresh flowers in every corner of the room.  
This is bedazzling!

 

 _Dazing utterly amazing! Just seeing it feels so good, I’d scream if only I could._  
  
“Can you stand up?” Kori asks as she sits down on the bed and rest her hand on Tim’s legs. “A warm bath is prepared, waiting for you to jump inside.”

  
_Bath? What is a bath?_

  
“It will do you good, trust me.”

 

—

  
With a lot of effort and Kori’s help, Tim has arrived at the bathroom.

  
_So, this is a bathtub? It’s beautiful. I don’t have any words for it. Is it made of pearls? My room was filled with pearls...no. These aren’t pearls. This tub thing is different, it looks and feels different. And it’s filled with bubbles! Bubbles!_  
  
“I see, Garfield really went all out!” Kori says as she prepares some clothes and a few towels for Tim. “These are Jason’s clothes. They are probably a few sizes larger than you’re used to but it’s all I could find for now. Don’t worry, while you take a bath, I will buy you some clothes for your own size.”

  
Tim slowly nods and grabs Kori’s hands.  
_Thank you, miss Kori._  
“You’re very welcome, love.” The woman responds as if she could hear what Tim is trying to say. “Now, enjoy your bath and I’ll be back in half an hour or so. Jason and Roy should be back soon also.”

  
Tim nods again and inserts one foot in the tub.  
“Oh, and... dear?” Kori asks as she lights up a few candles. “Don’t worry, we will find your family for you. You will be reunited with your loved ones, soon. I promise.”  
Tim stares at the dancing flames above the candles.  
_My loved ones…_  
  
—

 _The bath is amazing. It smells very sweet unlike the sea. And the bubbles are a nice extra._  
The bathtub is decorated with a few shells on the sides. Tim looks at them and remembers the days when he couldn’t stop looking for shells like these. The ocean was filled with beautiful shells but only this kind, Tim loved to collect.  
  
_They are so pretty and they make me think of home. Father, Dick and Steph... It’s barely been a day and I miss you already._  
  
He grabs a few of the shells and inspects them carefully.  
  
_Wait a minute! Shells! This big one... It can’t be._  
  
Tim puts the shell to his ear. There is a complete silence, no sound coming from it at all. He then puts the shell inside the water and it immediately starts to glow. It’s a mershell!  
These shells are used to communicate with other mer. However, they only work when they’re underwater.  
The shells don’t communicate through sound waves, they communicate through the mind. Because that is how mer used to talk to each other, hundreds of years ago. Only recently, were the siren songs discovered and now the mer people learn other languages.  
  
Tim holds the shell in his hands and thinks of those he misses the most. _Steph...Dick...Father... please respond to my call. I need your support._

  
He stares down at the shell as it’s colors fade away. It’s empty now. I must find a new one.  
“Knock, knock” A familiar voice sounds. “Roy here. Can I come in?”

  
—  
  
Tim jumps outside the tub, soaking wet and puts the shells back at their place. He then takes the towel and throws it on his head.  
  
_Is this where it belongs? The clothes I wore this morning were soft, why does this thing have a different texture._  
  
Roy opens the door and instantly regrets it. “Kid, you should cover your...stuff.”  
Tim looks down to the thing between his legs. He forgot he had that too. _What purpose does it serve, I wonder?_  
“You can’t even dress yourself up?” Roy asks, taking the towel and drying Tim’s hair.  
Tim takes the pants and puts it on. He then grabs the underwear and puts it over the pants.  
Roy crosses his arms and stares down at the younger boy. “You really fell hard on your head, didn’t you?”  
  
—  
  
After a few minutes Kori still hasn’t arrived. Roy and Tim have been talking for quite a time as they decide to finally leave the bathroom. Tim goes downstairs and with a little help from Roy, he can take the stairs without tripping over.  
  
Tim looks at Roy, holding tightly around his arm as it’s the only thing that keeps him standing.  
  
_Thank you, Roy. You people are so friendly to me. I don’t understand why father wouldn’t let me-_  
  
“Hey, don’t aim those blue eyes at me.” Roy says with a crooked grin on his face. “I feel like...I misjudged you...at the beach.” He sighs. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Tim shakes his head and focuses on the last steps he has to take. He let’s go of Roy’s hand and casually stares at the older man even though he had just asked him to not do that.  
  
“You are actually very cute for a guy” Roy seems to realize what he just said and turns as red as a tomato. He scratches the back of his head and doesn’t dare to look Tim in the eyes. “I mean... thin. You’re actually very thin...for a guy.”  
  
_More bark than bite. Why is his skin turning so red?_  
  
Tim rests a hand on Roy’s cheek, trying to cool it down.  
  
_It’s hot!_  
  
Roy slaps Tim’s hand away. “What are you doing? Guys don’t do that to each other!”  
  
_What does he mean? Touching each other? Me and Dick don’t mind touching each other’s faces._  
  
Tim retreats and decides to hold his hands to himself. He looks around and notices the red curtains, covering the windows. There’s a long carpet, leading to a door at the end of the hall.  
  
“Let’s go.” Roy sighs. “I’m starving.”  
  
Tim nods and follows Roy to the other side of the hall.  
  
_If only I could speak. I never knew how important my voice was. Now I do. What if I can’t tell Jason how I feel? I can’t. He won’t understand. Roy got so mad at me for touching him, he misunderstood the situation. What if that happens with Jason also?  
_  
—  
  
“Father, where are we going?” Dick asks as he follows his father to the other side of the sea.  
  
“I hope he hasn’t fled yet, the bastard.” Bruce hasn’t brought any guards with them because he knows they’re no match for the Joker. He doesn’t want to waste more lives.  
  
“Father, if you tell me- “  
  
“Dick. Be quiet.”  
  
Dick bows his head and decides to do as he’s asked. “Yes, father.”  
The rest of their trip has been in complete silence. Dick inspects the area around him. Dead flowers and bones are the only things that stand out to him. He doesn’t know if the bones belonged to a mer or a human.  
  
“Dick.” Bruce turns around and Dick bumps into him.  
  
“I’m sorry, father. I didn- “  
  
“Dick. You stay here. I will have a talk with an old...friend of mine.”  
  
“But why did you bring me with you? I’m coming with you, father!”  
  
“Dick. I brought you with me to find something for me. Something we can contact Tim with.” Bruce looks around him, searching for something. It’s very dark at this side of the sea, no lights to light up the place. Bruce then grabs a dead flower and throws it up. He shoots at it with his triton and it turns into a small light bubble. “There are different kinds of shells lying around here. I need you to find a golden one. A big one. Bring it to me.”  
  
“But father- “  
  
“Dick, I trust you.”  
  
Dick can he see the worried expression on his father’s face now, thanks to the light bubble.  
He accepts the bubble and lets it hover over his hands. “I won’t disappoint you, father.”  
  
“I know you won’t.” Bruce agrees. “You never have.”  
  
Dick turns around to swim away. “Dick.” Bruce stops him.  
  
“Yes, father?”  
  
“If I haven’t returned before the light bubble has faded, blow this horn.” He gives his son a purple horn. “It will alert the guards and send a flare, for them to find you. The flare will be bright enough for them to see.”  
  
“If this friend of yours is that dangerous, I’m coming with you.” Dick responds, offering the horn back to his father. “Father, I won’t let you- “  
  
“Dick!”  
  
“No! First mother, then Tim, now you? Who is next, Steph?” Dick pulls his father into a hug. “Please father. Don’t leave us.”  
Bruce embraces the hug. “Don’t worry my son. Tim will return to us. The three of you shall forever be safe. I will guard you with all the power that I have. I promised that to Selina, and now to you.”  
Dick grabs the horn. “Be careful, father.”  
“Same to you, son”  
  
—  
  
  
“No mother. I have been searching for this boy for a long time and until I find him, I won’t marry anyone.” Jason stands his ground. This guy saved him and he doesn’t understand why others don’t appreciate that as much as he does.  
“Jason. I hope for you that you aren’t developing feelings towards a man?” The queen asks as she takes a seat at the dining table.  
“I never said I did, mother.” Jason looks outside the window. He can spot the exact place where he found Tim. “I can search for someone without wanting to go to bed with them.”  
“Jason!” The queen yells. “How dare you talk to your mother like that.”  
The doors to the dining room open and a tall man appears.

  
“Darling, come join me.” The queen says as she stands up to kiss her husband.  
“Jason, son. Will you be joining us tonight?” The king asks.  
“I don’t think so, father. I’m sorry.” Jason responds as he walks towards the door.  
  
The doors open again and Roy appears.  
“Roy, honey. Why don’t you join us for dinner?” The queen asks as she returns to her seat. “Please ask Kori to accompany us also.”  
Roy nods and bows to the king and queen. “My queen, do you mind if we were to bring a guest with us?” He then asks.  
  
“Your guest is our guest.” She responds and smiles at her husband.  
The king sits down at the head of the table and pulls out his tobacco pipe. “That is very right.” He comments as he starts smoking.  
  
Kori appears and so does Tim.  
“Don’t be shy, love.” She says. “You must be famished!”  
  
  
  
  
  
Tim walks into the room and sees the queen and the king sitting at the table. He then notices Jason in the corner of the room.  
  
**Tim:**  
_Jason! He’s here. I haven’t seen him for a long time. He wasn’t here for breakfast either. Not that Roy and Kori weren’t good company.  
_  
Tim smiles at Jason.  
  
**Jason:**  
_This guy. How can he be so handsome and so cute?  
I have never seen a man like this before. He doesn’t look like the average guy, not at all. He’s not...human or something. That explains those big eyes of him. His skin looks like it’s covered with pearl dust and his lips.... what am I even thinking?_  
  
Jason returns to the table and pulls out a chair for Tim. Roy does the same for Kori.  
  
“Does this mean you will eat with us, son?” The king asks as he smokes the last bit of tobacco inside his pipe.  
Jason nods and returns his eyes to Tim.  
Kori and Roy notice it and can’t help but giggle at the sight.  
  
Tim looks at the pipe and his eyes widen. The king smiles at the young boy. “Do you like it? It’s a fine one indeed” He says as he offers it to Tim.  
  
“Father, no.” Jason responds. But Tim leaves his chair and grabs the pipe. Jason follows him but it’s too late. Tim blows the pipe and a cloud of smoke comes out, covering the King’s face.

  
Roy and Kori are shocked and so is the queen. “How dare you!” She yells. “This is unbelievable! Roy darling, I don’t know why you brought this... brat, as a guest.”

  
Tim doesn’t know why the smoke came out. He’s been using pipes like these to make bubbles for as long as he can remember.  
The king raises one hand and the queen silences. “It’s no problem.” The man wipes his face clean with a napkin. “The young boy probably didn’t know how to use it, and we shall leave it at that.”

  
Jason returns Tim to his seat.  
  
“He can’t even apologize to his king?” The queen asks as she rises. “I will not tolerate such behavior!”  
  
“My queen, if I may.” Roy asks.  
“No, you may not!” She responds. “Get him away from here, I am not dining with this child.”  
“He can’t talk!” Jason yells back. “Why do you make a fuss of everything, mother?”  
  
The queen is shocked at those words. She sits down and raises her head. “Barbara!”

  
A red-haired woman enters the room. Tim doesn’t look up. He feels sad and wants to cry.

  
“Don’t worry.” Jason whispers into his ear. “If we survive this, you and I can visit the beach. I heard that it’s full moon tonight. Have you ever witnessed a full moon? It’s beautiful.”

 **Jason:** _Like you, what am I doing? Ugh. Of course he doesn’t._  
  
Tim is surprised by the sudden whisper. It tickles. He then smiles and nods at the offer.  
_A full moon… Steph told me she experienced it when she visited the surface. She also told me how it made her skin glow and her tail glitter._  
  
“Barbara, honey. What will dinner be, tonight?” The queen asks.  
“My queen.” Barbara quickly bows and then continues. “Today I shall serve you ‘Samundari Khazana Curry’”  
The king raises his brows at the name of the dish.  
“Barbara, you never fail to amaze me.” The Queen responds. She smiles at the chef as she returns to the kitchen.  
Kori stands up and follows her. “Let me help you.”  
“Thank you, Kori.”  
  
—  
During dinner, Roy is talking about the different kinds of fishes he and Jason had catched, earlier in the day. Kori talks about a group of new villagers, coming to the kingdom. The king explains a few things about his next visit to another kingdom. All of them enjoying their food and their conversations.  
Tim however, hasn’t taken a single bite of his food. It contains crab and he knows it.  
“Don’t you like the food?” Jason asks, taking a sip of his wine.  
  
Tim points at the crab and then shakes his head.  
“You don’t like crab?”  
Tim nods and notices the knife, spoon and fork next to his plate. He grabs the fork and casually combs his hair with it.

  
Everyone at the table sees it and stop their conversations. Tim slowly continues combing his hair as he looks around him and then back at Jason.  
The queen drops her knife and fork on the table, The king stares in disbelief, Roy and Kori exchange glances and Jason...Jason can’t help but burst into laughter.  
The queen was about to say something to Tim but then she notices Jason’s smile on his face.  
“My, my Jason!” She says happy. “This if the first time you’ve laughed in weeks!” She looks surprised by the action and then continues to eat her food.  
  
Jason rests his hand on Tim’s lap. “I will get you something to eat.” He whispers again.  
  
Everyone continues their conversations and Tim is eating something Jason got him. Barbara wasn’t very happy with it but after Jason explained to her that Tim doesn’t like eating crab, she prepared something else for him. “Thank you, Barbara.” He said. “You’re the best.”

  
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” She responded, walking back to the kitchen.

  
“So, how are you and Sam doing?”

  
“We’re... not together anymore.”

  
“What? But you liked him! A lot.”

  
“The feelings weren’t mutual, I guess”

  
“I’m sorry to hear that. But hey, the jerk didn’t deserve you. You are a great woman and every man on this planet should be thrilled to even get to talk to you.”

  
“You sure know how to flatter a girl.”

  
“Tell me something I don’t know.” He responded and kissed her on her cheek.

  
“Jason!” She yelled embarrassed.

  
He accepted the plate and returned to the dining hall to serve the food to Tim.

  
—  
  
The conversations start to end and the food has been consumed.

  
“Uhm...” Jason says, facing the younger boy. “If you want, I can give you a tour through my kingdom tomorrow?”

  
Tim doesn’t hesitate for a second. Of course he does. He notices Kori and Roy holding hands and then remembers what happened when he touched Roy, earlier in the day.

  
The queen drinks the last bit of her wine and stands up. “I shall leave first.” She says and she elegantly walks away.  
Not much later, The King leaves too.  
  
“Love, shall I bring you to your room?” Kori asks, letting go of Roy’s hand. “You must be very tired.”

  
“He can s-“ Jason doesn’t finish his sentence. “Uhm, I mean...” He takes a sip of his water. “I’ll pick you up in the morning...for the tour, I mean.”

  
Tim looks at Jason, trying to understand why the other man has such a hard time finishing his sentences.

  
**Tim:**  
_Aww… he promised to visit the beach with me. I want to go with him. I want to see it..._  
  
**Jason:**  
_Damn it, Kori. It’s full moon tonight and I wanted him to see it… together… with me. Maybe I should abort the search for his family so that he can stay longer at the castle. No, Jason. How can I even think like that! I still need to find the guy who saved me… that is my number one goal._  
  
Tim pulls Jason into a hug and then leaves his seat.  
Kori isn’t even surprised anymore. Roy however, has a hard time resisting the urge to separate the two of them.

  
Tim follows Kori, leaving the room. “Goodnight, gentlemen.” Kori says before she closes the doors behind her.

 

Jason finishes his water in one go and sighs.  
“Jason, you’re a mess.” Roy says, rubbing his eyes.  
“Tell me...something I don’t know.”  
  
—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is ofcourse, much appreciated!


	8. If only you would notice what I'm dying to reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim has nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this chapter on, I will slowly add my twist to the story. Don’t worry, It will still be a magical fairy tale...I hope.
> 
> In this chapter Tim will use a golden shell to communicate with the mer. If you don’t understand what the golden shell is after I explained it last chapter, I will explain it again just to be sure you won’t get confused by the underlined text. Basically, the shell let’s you communicate with mer. Not with humans. The mer used to communicate via the shell but stopped doing so after they discovered a new way of communicating, singing siren songs.
> 
> There are two types of shells.  
> Regular shells: these have to be collected from the sea. They last for one minute and become useless after you’ve used then. You can only SEND messages with these shells.
> 
> Golden shells: These are the most rare shells on the entire planet. They can only be collected in the darkest parts of the sea and last for a year. You have to have two shells to be able to communicate with a mer. (One shell per  
> merman/mermaid) you can SEND and RECEIVE messages with this shell.  
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

“You disappoint me, Timothy.” Bruce says as he shoots him a furious glance.

“But father, they’re not evil people. They provide me of food and shelter.” Tim comments, swimming away from the castle.

His father is faster than him and pulls the young boy back by his tail. “And where do you think you’re going?” The king asked.

“I’m going back up! I only have so much time until I cease to exist. I have to marry my prince, father.”

“Only so much time-“ Bruce says as he pushes the young boy against the bottom of the ocean. “And then you will turn into foam and cease to exist.” His head morphs into that of the Jokers. “Stupid little merman.” He opens his mouth to devour the younger boy. Tim struggles to untangle himself from the Joker’s grip but fails.

“Noooo!” His voice fades at the end of the word. _I will die... no one will hear my screams. The Joker bites into Tim’s neck. I will die... and no one will miss me._ Tim tries to catch the rays of sunlight which are entering the deep blue ocean. _I will die..._

 

He wakes up, covered in sweat. He is trying to let the dream sink in. _It was a dream? But it all looked so real..._

He buries his face into his hands and let’s out a sigh of frustration. After a few minutes he wipes away his tears and takes a sip of the glass of water, Kori had put on his nightstand.

It’s still dark outside, the moonlight is reflecting in the glass of water. He stares at it for a few minutes and then jumps out of his bed to put on a pair of socks. Kori has filled the entire closet with clothes, just for him. He loves the texture of it, the colors on it and the warm and cozy feeling it has to it.

He sneaks out of the castle, releasing himself from the warmth. As soon as he’s outside, he runs towards the sea. He breathes in the cold breeze and first inserts one foot inside the water and then the other one. The sea is calming and after a few seconds he finds himself back to collecting shells like he used to do. It’s dark outside but the castle lights up the entire shore, so that’s not a problem.

 _Jason will give me a tour tomorrow. I can’t wait for it. My heart... Last night he really seemed to like me. Does he?_ He notices the colorful flowers in the distance. He runs towards it and falls flat on his face.

 _I forgot, my legs hurt so much but I completely forgot about the pain. Because of Jason._ Tim struggles to stand up but after a few minutes he succeeds. He slowly walks towards the flowers and sits down next to them. _Dear flowers, do you think Jason loves me? I mean..._ He plucks a flower and toys with it. _I love him, my heart hurts whenever I’m not at his side. His hair is so pretty, the white locks so mysterious. And his eyes...his eyes are so...cute._ He plucks the daisy petals and tells himself, _he loves me... he loves me not...he loves me...no he does not...he loves me...he loves me not._ Until there is only one petal left. ...he loves me? _He loves me!_ He lays down on his back, on the bed of flowers.

 _He loves me..._ After a few minutes, he hears something. A voice. He carefully stands up and walks towards the ocean. I _know this voice, this song._

 

Steph sticks her head out of the water “Booh!” Tim falls down on his butt, getting his clothes soaked. “Hey Timmy. We’ve been searching the entire ocean for you! Why are you...” she looks at the lower half of his body and gasps. “Where is your tail? Tim? Oh my god.”

She carefully touches his legs and shakes her head in disbelief. “What have you done?”

Tim looks at his legs and then back at her tail.

“Tim? Are you going to answer my question?” She asks, hands covering her mouth. Tim points at his mouth an shakes his head. “You can’t talk? Tim, I don’t-“ her eyes widen and she slaps her hands onto the water. “Oh my god, Tim. The Joker? You made a deal with the Joker? Your voice? You wanted legs so much you actually sacrificed your voice?”

Tim shakes his head and thinks about what she’d just said. It surprises him how fast she had found out about the Joker. He then nods and inspects the area around him, searching for something.

“So is that a yes or a no?” She asks, crossing her arms.

 _This one._ He grabs a big shell and holds it underwater. It starts to glow.  “We don’t have much time, these shells only last for one minute.”

“Talk.”

“I didnt sacrifice my voice for legs.”

She points at his legs “Then explain those and the reason why you can’t talk.”

“I sacrificed my voice for much more than legs, Steph.” He bites his lip and looks away. “I sacrificed my voice for love. Just like mother did for dad.”

“How do you know-“

“I know. Alfred told me how mother had sacrificed her legs for a tail to be with Father. Father transformed her legs with his triton and promised himself to never do such a thing again. For humans are humans and mer-“ The light inside the shell fades away and his voice mutes again.

Steph is shocked. “For love...” she whispers to herself. She hesitates for a few seconds and then dives back into the water. _No, Steph..._ Tim tries to stop her but she’s gone.

After a few minutes he carefully stands up and turns around. _Ofcourse she would leave me, I’ve done something horrible to her. I have no right to expect her to-_ He hears a big splash, coming from behind him. He turns around and sees Steph, sitting on a rock with two golden shells in her hand.

Behind her appears Dick. Tim runs towards his older brother and jumps on top of him. Dick easily catches him and pulls him into a hug. Now that Tim is close to the rock, he can also hug his sister. He hugs her tightly and doesn’t let go until Dick touches his legs.

“They are pretty, Timmy.” He whispers.

Steph grabs the golden shells and gives one to Tim. “Dick found these, you asked for support...and that is exactly what you will get.” She says with a soft smile on her face.

Dick grabs the other shell and puts Tim’s hand on it. Tim can hear the message he had sent yesterday when he was bathing. “You got the message!” 

Dick nods “I did. We’re here for you.”

Tim can feel the tears streaming down his face. “Oh my god, Dick! He’s melting!” Steph yells a bit too loud. Tim shakes his head and rests his hands on the golden shell. “These are called tears... they speak for your heart...” Steph looks at him, a bit confused but she shakes it off.

Dick touches a tear, rolling down from Tim’s cheek. “Don’t worry, little brother. Steph and I won’t let anyone hurt you. We will make sure that you will live happily, may it be in the sea or on land.”

Tim smiles and pulls his siblings into another tight hug. “Your skin is sticky!” Steph whispers.

After a few minutes of catching up, Steph asks: “Tim, how long do we have until...” Tim rests his hand on the shell to answer the question. “I have until the day that Jason marries someone else. Then I will...-“

Dick grabs Tim’s hands. “You won’t. We will make sure you won’t.”

“Thank you...” Tim hesitates to ask the last question but his hands are still resting on the shell so his thoughts are spoken at loud. “How is father?” Tim’s eyes widen and he drops the shell. Steph is quick to catch it. “Father is...” she gives the shell back to her younger brother. “Father is missi-“

“Father is fine.” Dick says. “He’s worried but fine. He’s not angry at you, Tim.”

Steph looks at Dick and then nods slowly. “He loves you, Timmy. He always has and always will.” Tim nods and buries his face in his hands. _Why is this so hard for me. Father is not mad at me, Dick and Steph are supporting me...why am I still crying?_

“Mother would be proud of you.” Dick whispers softly as he pats Tim on his back. The younger boy’s eyes widen and he stares at his older brother. “She would be very proud, Timmy. Only she had the courage to leave behind everything she had for love. Up until now. You really are a strong little merman, haha”

Tim smiles and wipes away his tears. He then starts to feel cold, his clothes are soaking wet because of the water and the cold breeze ain’t helping either.

“Now, go inside and take a good rest. You deserve it.” Dick softly whispers, giving his younger brother a kiss on his forehead.

Tim rests his hand on the shell again. “Tomorrow, Jason will give me a tour trough the town. Will you be there?” He asks. Dick and Steph exchange a smile and nod.

“Ofcourse we will! We wouldn’t want to miss our young brother’s first date!” Steph whispers, poking Tim’s cheek. Tim smiles, relieved as he is. He then waves them goodbye.

 

**Extra:**

_How can I possibly enter the castle now? The golden shell can only be heard by mer people. How will I explain my soaking wet clothes? How will I explain the fact that I’m outside in the middle of the night?_

Tim undresses himself and throws the wet clothes in a bush. He then grabs a few stones and throws it at Roy’s window.

After a few minutes and alot of stones, Roy opens the curtains and looks outside. Tim waves at him, completely naked. Roy’s jaw drops and he rubs his eyes, hoping to wake up from a nightmare or something.

“What the fuck is he doing? Swimming naked or something?” Tim points at his body. Roy facepalms himself and quickly grabs a new pyjama for the younger boy.

He rushes outside and gives it to him. “Are you stupid? Walking around naked...at this hour? Our kingdom is very well guarded but even the guards can get perverted from time to time” Roy shakes his head and hits Tim on his head.

“I-if you do this again...” He stutters. Tim has put on the clothes and looks at the older boy with his ocean blue eyes. “If y-you do t-this again...” His face turns pink now, Which Tim can see because of the moonlight shining on the red head’s face. Tim smiles and  makes a thankful gesture.

“Just don’t do this again.” Roy sighs. “Let’s go back...” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated. I love you all.


	9. Kiss the boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Tim go on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for the hiatus. Life got busy, very busy. But now I’m back and ready to finish this fic! 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

“Don’t lie to me, Joker.” Bruce says angrily, pointing his triton to the other man. “Where is my son?”

The Joker doesn’t answer. He smiles instead, grabbing a few bottles and a few ingredients.

“If you won’t answer me, Joker... I swear to god I will destroy your cave.” Bruce yells loud, making even the skeletons shiver in fear.

The Joker drops his bottles and ingredients and turns around to face his brother. “Bruce... stupid, ignorant Bruce. Your child ran away from you. Why Joker? WHYYYYY?” The Joker slams his hand on the table. “BECAUSE YOU COULDN’T GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTED. Just like with- “

Bruce grabs the Joker by his neck and pushes him to the wall behind him. He lightens up his triton and points it to one of the Joker’s tentacles. “You only have so many of them until you don’t have any of them left!”

“Oh Bruce, you never change...do you?” The Joker carefully untangles himself and swims towards his ingredient table. He reaches underneath it and grabs a golden contract. “Our little boy...has signed this contract. Be a dear and read it for me.”

Bruce grabs the contract and starts at the top. “Hereby grant unto the Joker, one tongue, in exchange for a pair of legs. The Joker is not responsible for any harm, danger or death coming towards you. The deal shall never be reversed. For all eternity, - “ Bruce doesn’t dare to look at the last part of the contract. He closes his eyes and opens them again to read the last line. “Signed, Timothy Wayne.” He grabs the Joker by his neck again and lifts him up. “You went too far this time!” He points his triton at the green-haired man as it lights up again.

The Joker quickly grabs the contract and uses it as his shield. The Blast of the triton doesn’t do the paper nor the Joker any harm. Bruce’s eyes widen. “W-what...?”

The Joker let’s out a loud bark and folds the contract. “This contract is signed, Bruce.” He puts the golden paper back where he got it from. “Which means, you can’t destroy it. Not you, nor can anyone else.”

Bruce slams his triton onto the ground, making all of the bottles fall down and shatter into a thousand pieces of glass. “My son...how long does he have?!”

The Joker grabs a tiny golden chest and puts it on the table. “He has until prince charming marries someone else, until then he can use his pretty legs as much as he wants to.”

Bruce looks at the golden chest and then back at the man in front of him. “What happens if the prince marries someone else?” He asks as worried as a father can get.

“He will go poooooffff! With glitters and all.”

Bruce points his triton to the other man again. “Don’t play games with me, you filth!”

“He will turn into foam!” The Joker says, shooting his hands up. “He will cease to exist!” He quickly opens the golden chest and shows the inside of it to Bruce. Bruce can’t believe his eyes.

“What did you...how...” the king falls on his tail. “My son...why... it’s all my fault. Selina, I’m so sorry.”

The Joker laughs and pulls the chest back. “Look, Bruce...I can’t do much for you. But we can always...make a deal!”

Bruce slowly rises again, grabbing his triton from where it had fallen. “You knew from the beginning that the world of homo sapiens would destroy my son. You knew that he’s too naive to see that. He’s not strong enough to fight yet, let alone be up there!” He lights up his triton.

“Do you seriously think a fight will solve this...brother?” The green-haired man asks with a creepy smile on his face, he grabs his part of Poseidon’s power, the magic shell, to defend himself. “I mean, is the contract binding? Goodness, yes! Unbreakable, unless...”

“Unless what? Answer me!” Bruce yells angrily.

“If the prince falls in love with Timmy and declares his love for him...I will give your son his tail back so that he can live the rest of his muted life with you. Here, in the sea.” The Joker offers. Bruce thinks about the offer.

“And what if he doesn’t marry the prince before someone else does?”

“Not much...just that you will give me your triton!” He laughs and grabs a tiny fish to devour it.

“Never! You will give my son his tail back or I’ll make you!”

“Come on, Bruce. What is more important to you, a weapon...being the King of the Sea... or a father to your own son? Children grow up so fast! Do you honestly think that the prince will let you reunite with your son once he gets his hands on him? You will NEVER see him again! This way, you will take back what’s yours and get rid of the dirty man who stole your son from you.”

Bruce is worried. He agrees with the Joker, Bruce despises every human being after what they did to Selina. “If Timothy marries the prince, you will give him his tail back and I won’t give you my triton, correct?”

The Joker nods. “And the two of you shall be reunited. Father and son, for there are no stronger bonds on this planet. Not even looove can compare to that! You will do him a favor, he probably regrets his choice already! Besides, there is no price to this offer. Grab it, grab it, graaaab it! We all know that everyone wants to marry your son, Bruce. Even if the prince doesn’t fall for guys, your son will make sure he’ll make an exception. So, you will get your son back and keep your triton! Unless the prince dies or something, which we both know is very...unlikely....”

Bruce nods. His children are more important to him than his power. He doesn’t want to lose his youngest son to some man. Prince or no prince. He doesn’t care. I will break your heart, my son. I hope you’ll forgive me. “Where do I sign?”

* * *

 

 

Jason wakes up and takes a bath. He’s feeling good today. _Today I will show him my kingdom. I don’t even know his name yet...What is it about him that’s so wonderfully, impossibly familiar? Why do I feel dizzy in a way I've only felt but once before...? How come when he looks at me it seems like time stops moving... Almost like the way it did that day upon the shore._

Jason gets out of the tub and dries himself off. He puts on one of his favorite outfits. _I think I can wear this..._ _it will accentuate my abs and my good figure but at the same time cover enough of my body to not make a scandal out of me._ _I’m still a prince and I need to behave like one._ He combs his hair back and takes a final look in the mirror. _This should do the job._

Jason leaves his room and is met with a laughing Kori and an embarrassed Roy. “Do I want to know what’s going on or...?”

Kori laughs again. “Roy was- “

“No!” Roy interrupts her. “The boy is waiting for you, Jay.”

Jason slowly nods and heads outside the castle. The bright sunlight and blue sky make him feel blessed. _Good weather, nice company...this day can’t get any better._

* * *

 

Jason can’t keep his eyes from Tim. _This guy...he looks so beautiful. He really does look like the person who saved me that day. But that voice..._

Tim notices Jason and runs towards him. He falls, but not on the ground, he falls into the older guy’s arms. They both laugh.

“Are you alright?” Jason asks, his charming smile covering the  half of his face.

Tim nods, returning a soft smile. _If only it were true, if only for a while..._

Jason helps the younger boy stand. “I won’t let you walk. Let’s get a carriage. It will be fun!”

Tim doesn’t know what a carriage is. He tilts his head at the word.

“You have never been on one?” Jason laughs. “You will love it. There’s one over there. Let’s go.” He arches his back for the younger boy to jump on. Tim does so and is brought to the vehicle.

“Get on, babybird.” Tim is surprised by the name but he doesn’t mind it.

* * *

 

Tim can’t believe it. First, he gets to walk and now he’s flying! He throws his upper body over the carriage and looks underneath it. _It’s amazing!_

Jason wants to throw an arm around the boy but he can’t find his shoulder. He touches something else instead. He quickly looks at the boy and is met with a butt instead of a face. “Hey, Babybird? Watcha doing?” He asks, making himself guilty of staring at Tim’s butt for a full minute.

Tim lifts his head and points at the wheels of the carriage.

“Yeah, those are wheels. Do you like them?”

Tim nods, his head has turned pink from hanging upside down. Jason laughs at the sight.

_This guy...He makes me want to...do things. But then again, he’s not the one who saved me. He doesn’t have a voice._

Tim hesitates for second and then rests his head on the taller guy’s shoulder. Jason embraces the gesture and pats the younger boy on his head, toying with his long locks.

Tim is surprised by the patting but he likes the feeling of it. _If only you would notice how I ache beneath my smile..._

* * *

 

Jason had brought Tim to every corner of the kingdom. They have fed the birds, bought a ton of stuff, Tim has even modelled for a painter. Jason, of course, bought the painting. He didn’t want anyone else to have it.

They ate together, laughed together and enjoyed the moment together. After their picnic, Jason had learned Tim some basics on dancing. Although every dance step felt like a whip slash to Tim’s feet, he loved the moment. Jason and Tim were dancing for a long time. Because of Tim’s bone structure being flexible from having a tail for a long time, his dance moves where very elegant. Jason could stare at them for hours.

* * *

 

“Now- “Jason whispers softly “I want our date- euhm I mean... I want to end this amazing day on my ship. What do you say... yeah or nah?”

Tim nods his head like a child being asked if he would like some candy.

“I take that as a yeah.” Jason lets the younger boy hop on his back again and then runs towards the ship.

* * *

 

Tim looks at Jason with his ocean blue eyes.

Jason blushes and quickly looks away. _This guy makes me feel like teenage boy again!_ He clears his throat. “Peaceful, isn’t it? No one to...euhm...bother us here.”

Tim nods and smiles at Jason. The ocean makes him feel like home. No matter what happens, it always will.

There is a very awkwardly silence going on. Tim smiles and Jason constantly clears his throat. Steph and Dick silently approach the dinghy. They have been watching the couple the entire day, but they didn’t want Tim to focus on them.

“Why don’t they lock tails-...” Steph whispers as she realizes that humans don’t do things like mermen/mermaids do.

Jason clears his throat once again. “If only I knew your name... can I guess?”

Tim looks up and immediately nods.

“Okay...uhm- Alec? Alex? Daniël?”

Dick softly whispers “Tim, his name is Tim-o!!” He makes a loud noise as he got hit by Steph. “Why do you get to talk and I just had to keep my mouth shut the entire day?” She says, crossing her arms.

Jason narrows his eyes. “T-Tim-o, Timbo?”

Tim is surprised and nods his head. _It’s close enough._ He notices Dick and Steph and waves at them.

“Who are you waving to- “

Tim grabs Jason’s hands and Jason immediately feels it. He looks at the younger boy in front of him. “Y-your name is Timbo, ha?”

Tim nods again and smiles softly.

“That’s kinda cute...”

Jason is drawn to Tim.

Steph takes a deep breath and approaches the ship. She softly sings a siren song, adding some romance to the scene. “Now’s your moment, floating in a blue lagoon. Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better. He don’t say a word and he won’t say a word until you...kiss the boy.”

Jason doesn’t notice the mermaid singing but he hears the music. He leans forward. The song has worked its magic. At long last he leans in to plant a kiss on Tim’s lips. The younger boy arches his back, ready to accept the kiss. He can feel the hot breath coming out of Jason’s mouth.

“Oh god!” Jason says, snapping out of the almost-kiss. “I completely forgot about the singing contest!” As quickly as it happened, it’s over. “I’m sorry. Roy has put a lot of effort into this singing contest for me to find the person who saved me. The person with the most beautiful voice of all.”

Tim nods. He is crushed. They were so close to that kiss!

“My mother wants me to marry someone as soon as possible. I’m not planning on marrying ’just a someone’ though, I want to marry my savior.”

_I’m your savior, Jason. I am... your savior._ Tim can’t help it. a tear rolls down his cheek and he quickly wipes it away. Bravely, he swallows his disappointment and smiles for Jason’s sake as they leave the ship.

* * *

 

Beautiful women, dressed in silk and gold, step forward and sing for the prince and his royal parents.

Jason hasn’t heard ‘the’ voice yet. All of them sing beautifully but none can sing as beautiful as the person who had saved him. “Mother, none of these women are the person I’m looking for.” Jason whispers. “I told you, the person who saved me was a bo- “

“Enough!” The queen yells. The women are startled by the scream and try to regain their rhythms. “I don’t want my son to marry a boy! That not only means that I won’t have any grandchildren but it would also be huge scandal!”

“A huge scandal? Mother- “

Tim is sitting next to Jason, not on a throne but on a regular chair. He hears the conversation and feels heartbroken. This is great sorrow to the little merman. Watching the women only makes him feel worse. He knows how much more sweetly he himself could sing once.

Kori stands at the doorway, waving at Tim. The young boy stands up and walks towards her. “Timbo, why don’t you show Jason some of the dance moves you’ve practiced together? I’m sure he’ll love it.” She whispers. Tim nods and slowly walks to the center of the room.

The women are surprised and slowly walk away from the spot. Then he raises his lovely arms, stands on the tips of his toes, and glides over the floor, and dances as no one yet has been able to dance.

The women around him laugh at him. “What is this? Don’t you have any bones in your body? Is he a girl or a boy?”

“Hey!” Jason says. “Silence!” He stands up but his mother pulls him back.

“Timbo...”

Tim looks at them, his face needs no words to express how he feels. The young boy runs back to Kori. She shakes her head and walks to the women. “First of all- “

The queen furrows her brows.

“It’s called dancing. Yes, he does have bones. Just because you can’t dance as elegant as he can, doesn’t mean you can talk to him like that. Secondly, you- “ Kori points at the woman who asked the last question. “Do you think that certain movements with the body makes you the opposite gender? “

The woman rests her hands on her hips and nods. “I do. What about it, servant?”

“If we went by that logic, you would be a man.” Kori says with a smile on her face. Jason bursts into laughter.

The queen clears her throat. “Kori, that’s enough. Leave now and take the boy with you.”

Kori bows to the queen and turns around.

“Wait.” The king commands. “I want the boy to finish his dance.”

The queen raises her brows and shakes her head. “Unbelievable.” She rests her head on her hand and closes her eyes.

Kori nods. “Make them pay for it.” She whispers into Tim’s ear.

The boy returns to his spot and continues his dance. At each moment his beauty becomes more obvious to the women around him but also to Jason, and his eyes appeals more directly to the heart than any of the songs which have been sung tonight. The king is entertained. He immediately claps his hands for the young boy. Tim stops dancing and takes a deep bow.

Jason stands up and holds Tim’s hands. “Timbo, you are amazing.” The young boy blushes and looks away, not letting go of Jason’s hands.

“Jason! Let go of him this instant!” The queen yells furiously. The women around the couple start whispering things to each other. Tim doesn’t understand what’s wrong about holding hands. “You will marry one of these ladies, do you hear me? She says.

“No.” Jason responds, crossing his arms around his chest. “I will marry the person who saved me. I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. It’s my choice and this is my kingdom!”

His mother gasps. The women stop whispering things to each other and leave the room.

* * *

 

 “Harley, love.” The Joker yelled when Bruce had left. “I have two contracts to ruin.... HAHAHAHA You want to help me?”

The slender mermaid appeared from the shadows where she had been all along. “Brucey was so scary, puddin!”

“I know. I know, darlin.” The Joker comforted her and then quickly grabbed the golden chest. “Let’s show the amateur what scary looks like.”

* * *

 

Jason returns to his usual spot on the balcony. The only place where he can think clear. He takes a deep breath and then sighs. “I don’t know when.... I don’t know how...”

Roy opens the door to the balcony and joins his best friend. “Jay, can I tell you something?”

Jason nods. “You know the answer to that question.”

“Why don’t you stop focusing on this dream guy- “

“Roy, why does everyone- “

Roy points at the window across the balcony. “And focus on the real guy.” Jason follows the direction and sees Tim, being comforted by Kori.

_Roy is right. He always is_. _Tim is the one for me, I want to be with him._

“Just a word of advice, man. I know you always make the right choices in life but this guy... is something else.” Roy says, patting Jason’s back and leaving the balcony.

_Timbo. I only know him for such a short time, and in that short time he’s made me fall in love with him. He’s the one I want to-_

“I finally know when...” Jason’s eyes widen. This voice...

“I finally know how...” It can’t be. Jason searches around him, trying to find where this voice is coming from.

“It’s finally true, at last I have found you somehow!” Jason can see a shadow, walking on the beach. The shadow stops in its tracks and looks up, at the prince. Her eyes are reflecting the moonlight.

“Now we can be...” Jason can’t believe this. His savior...has arrived!

“Finally free!”

_I found you..._  

The waves on the beach are extremely loud. Just like the day when Jason was saved.

“I’m part of your.... world!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated. It’s the main reason I write!


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